Honors Academy

Dr. Niels Christensen, Director
Floyd Hall, (540) 831-6125

Honors at Radford University is an academic program and vibrant community defined by intellectual curiosity and active engagement in the educational process. In turn, these qualities are expected to result in the pursuit of excellence in one’s scholarly and creative activities.

Honors students are selected in a competitive application process. Students admitted to honors are eligible for a number of benefits, including enrollment in honors classes, honors housing, honors programming, and an honors scholarship. Students who complete the 27-credit hour honors curriculum graduate as Highlander Scholars, the highest academic distinction for Radford University undergraduates. The Highlander Scholar distinction appears on the student’s diploma and is recognized with special regalia at graduation.

The Mission of the Honors Academy (HA) is threefold:

Give recognition for academic excellence.

Provide opportunities for more academic rigor.

Foster a community of distinction.

Students who wish to learn more about the Honors Academy are invited to contact the director, Dr. Niels Christensen, by email honors@radford.edu, by phone (540) 831-6125, or in person at 160 Floyd Hall.

Admission Criteria and Active Status

Membership in the Honors Academy is space-limited. High school seniors are invited to apply to the Honors Academy if they meet two of the following three qualifications: 1100 (V+Q) SAT (or 24 ACT), 3.5 high school GPA, and top 20% of high school graduating class.

New freshmen who are not invited into the Honors Academy when they enroll at the university may apply to the Academy if they earn a 3.5 GPA or greater during their first semester at Radford University. Transfer students with outstanding qualifications are also eligible to apply for admission and are encouraged to discuss their interest with the honors director.

Honors students maintain their ‘active’ status in the program by making satisfactory progress toward completing the honors graduation requirements and participating in the honors community. Complete details for maintaining active honors status are found in the Honors Academy Student Handbook. Only those honors students with active status are eligible for priority registration and the honors scholarship.

Requirements For Graduation

To graduate from Radford University as a Highlander Scholar, students must have a minimum 3.5 overall GPA in Radford coursework and complete at least 27 hours of honors credits in accordance with the requirements listed below:

6 credit hours in University Core A, which must include HNRS 103.

9 credit hours in honors courses from University Core B, College Core A, and College Core B.

9 credit hours of work in a combination of study abroad, independent study or undergraduate research in the major, honors contracts in the major, HNRS 300, and HNRS 301.

3 credit hours in an honors capstone project (DEPT 488) in the major, which must be presented at a scholarly conference or other public venue.

A student may transfer a maximum of 12 hours of Core Curriculum honors courses into the Academy.